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RHW Interchange Guide - Moved To A New Home! (See the Child Board Above)

Started by Haljackey, January 23, 2009, 10:33:13 AM

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Have you found this guide useful?

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No- too simplistic
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Total Members Voted: 311

asteconn

Hello Hal :)

You ought to update your playlist now that I have added the tutorials on T intersections :)

Good thread mind ^^

Like I said to you on youtube, but may as well reiterate here, is I'll be doing some 4 way interchanges soon: The 2 Level Roundabout, Halo and Cloverstack; probably in that order, because trying to condense building a cloverstack into 10 minutes is pretty hard! xD


Haljackey

All Right, let me get back to some of these replies:

Dreamcat:  I know, eh?  You're welcome!  The RHW can be a beast to tame when using it for the first time.  When I first used it, the RHW was a simple, straightforward mod.  Nowadays it can confuse any newbie because it is so complicated.  I hope things like this interchange guide help out!

Asteconn:  Hey, great to see you here!  Once again nice work with your turorials!
-The playlist has been updated to incorporate your new files.  I have also updated the sticky post and stuck your playlist and links in there.
-Good luck with the cloverstack!

@ Everyone else: thank you for your continued support!

More tutorials soon!  Perhaps a RHW to RHW interchange for once...  ;)
-Haljackey

Cyclone1001


Haljackey

#83
Gah, I have some free time right now so I may as well post the next guide.   :P

Cyclone1001: Perhaps, but not right now.   ::)




Section Three:  Trumpet Interchanges


This part of the guide will cover trumpet interchanges, a popular, realistic way to connect two RHWs together in a 3-way intersection.  Although they consume a good amount of space, trumpet interchanges are cheap to build and their design works particularly well with toll roads.

In right hand drive, the one loop in the trumpet interchange usually contains the ending highway, but this design can be mirrored to contain the starting highway.




Section 3.1: Simple Trumpet Interchange

This post will show you how to build a simple trumpet interchange, perfect for those who are new to the RHW or when space is a constraint.

So let's get started.  Construct your primary RHW (the one that is not starting/ending at the interchange).
-I am using the RHW-4 with a one tile median for this example.


Now construct a pair of MIS overpasses like so:
-Make sure the yellow and white lines line up to ensure you have a working connection.


Allright, on one end of the MIS overpasses, plop two MIS/RHW-4 splitter pieces, one for each direction.


Now, begin to drag your MIS stubs to create a design like so:


Select RHW-4 ramp type "B", and plop four of them where the MIS meets the RHW-4.  It should look like this when finished:


Lastly, extend your newly formed RHW network.


...And there you have it.  A trumpet interchange!




That also marks the first RHW-to-RHW interchange in this guide.

In the next guide, I will show you how to make a much more complex and detailed trumpet interchange.
-Haljackey

emgmod

Great job with the tutorial. I recently constructed a trumpet interchange similar to this to make a RHW spur. In my opinion, trumpet interchanges are one of the most useful interchanges you can make.

Haljackey

#85
emgmod:  Thanks!  I too think trumpets look exceptionally good in SC4 when using the RHW mod.  Its without a doubt the best looking 3-way intersection.




Section 3.2: Complex Trumpet Interchange

Fasten your seatbelts and prepare yourself, for I am about to show you how to make a large, realistic trumpet interchange.
-Note: you will need the hole digging lots for this guide.

I am going to be as comprehensive as possible, but I don't want to flood the page with an exceptional amount of images.  Despite this, this will be the largest tutorial in the guide so far.  Just make sure you have enough experience using the RHW before following along.  If this is too much for you, then I recommend using the simple trumpet interchange guide in section 3.1.

This interchange will have a higher capacity than the simple trumpet interchange because I am going to use RHW-4 for the ramps instead of the MIS ramps.  The advantage here is that by using RHW-4, smooth curves can be made.  Proper acceleration and deceleration ramps will also be constructed.




Let's begin.  Like the last guide, I am using a RHW-4 with a one tile median.
-Place your ground lifters from the hole digging lots at least one tile away from the highway.


Now drag road.  Start at the ground lifter, and drag away from the RHW.


Demolish the roads and the ground lifters. 
-Now is also a good time to adjust the slope of the newly created hill.  I recommend using a slope mod to achieve this.


Use road, street, or RHW stubs to create a 3x3 box at the top of your hills.
-At this point, I have also further sloped the sides of the hill to create a more realistic appearance.


Delete the two rows of stubs closet to the RHW and drag a road or street along the side of the RHW for two tiles.  This will also flatten the area so a smooth overpass can be made.


Construct two RHW-4 overpasses using the Elevated RHW on-slope pieces.
-Make sure the yellow and white lines line up to ensure you have a working connection.


Begin to drag your RHW from the overpasses.  Be sure to leave enough space for smooth curves, which will be added later.
-A good trick to ensure you left enough space is to plop it first, then demolish it.


Begin to drag your RHW from the overpasses in the other direction.  Place a pair of smooth inner RHW-4 curves where the slope ends.
-In this photo, I have turned on the grid to make it easier to see where the slope ends.  I use a very restrictive slope mod to create a low incline/decline angle.


Now to construct the ramps.  Use a pair RHW-6S to dual RHW-4 pieces at the edge of the inner curves.  Then drag the RHW-6S for a few tiles before using a RHW-6S to RHW-4 transition to start/end the lane.  I have used the RHW-6S for 7 tiles here.  Also now is a good time to drag your new RHWs from the curves and connect them to the main RHW in a similar fashion.
-You can also use the dual RHW-4 to RHW-8 pieces here if you want, depending on how high capacity you want your starting/ending highway to be.


Place a RHW-6S to RHW-4 transition at the edge of the overpass like so:
-As of RHW 3.2, the El-RHW-4 cannot cross networks wider than the RHW-4.  The extra length of the overpasses allow for a wider RHW to pass below when this is added in a future version.


Allow about 7 tiles of RHW-6S before placing the RHW-6S to dual RHW-4 piece.  This will give a realistic look to the deceleration lane.  (Road stubs are used here only to show the 7 tiles)
-Again, the length of the lane can be whatever you wish, I just think 7 tiles is a good length to use for the purpose of this guide.  (Personally, I like to use 9 or more tiles.)


Start to drag out your RHW from the on-ramp.  This will form the loop of the trumpet.
-Also, if you have not done so yet, connect the outer ramps to the main RHW as seen in the top-right of this image.


Construct the loop, joining the overpass with the on-ramp.  Leave enough room for curves. 
-Also construct the outer ramp that follows the trumpet.


Add in your smooth curves.  Outer curves go on the outer RHW, inner curves go on the inner RHW.  Makes sense, right?  :P


Join your outer ramp with the main RHW.  Its pattern is exactly like the other ramps.  Allow 7 tiles or so for the off-ramp.  Place the last smooth curve here.


Now is a good time to smoothen the terrain if you so wish.  I would avoid using the level terrain tool as it can demolish all your hard work.  Drag a road/rail network to create a smoothed slope and then demolish it. 
-Again, this is why a slope mod comes in handy.


The finished result.  The bumps and steep slopes in the hills are now smoothed.


...You're done!  This is a large interchange, so I'll have to zoom out to show the whole thing:


Congratulations!  You have now made a realistic trumpet interchange!  &apls &apls &apls




Additional Image:
Like almost every interchange, it can be further customized.  This image shows the loop ramp elongated to create a more circular curve.  However, this will increase the size of the interchange by a significant amount and is not at all needed.  Some players might find this appearance to look better than a straighter loop shown in this guide.





Anyways, I you enjoyed this guide!  Have fun constructing a complex, realistic trumpet interchange!
-Haljackey

MandelSoft

Impressive, but the trumpet part of the interchange can be a lot smaller if you drag the RHW side by side, as shown here:


Anyway, a good tutorial.

Oh and by the way, how about a tutorial how to construct a half cloverturbine? It looks very simmilar, except that the outer ramp is constructed wider than required for a trumpet interchange, so it later it can be extended to a full cloverturbine interchange:
Example half-cloverturbine
Example Full cloverturbine 1
Example Full cloverturbine 2

Best,
Maarten
Lurk mode: ACTIVE

Haljackey

#87
mrtnrln:  Actually, that's what I'm going to show in this guide.  You're going ahead of me lol  :P
-Perhaps I'll take on those examples.  They look very interesting!




Section 3.3: Compact, Complex Trumpet Interchange

This guide will show you how to make the trumpet interchange I displayed in Section 3.2 more compact, while still maintaining its complexity and realistic look.  The major change here is that the loop ramp will be considerably more circular, reducing the footprint of the interchange.

I will also show some other applications to the interchange at the end of this guide.

To start, follow Section 3.2 until you see this picture.





Now, unlike the last guide, I am going to construct the loop's on-ramp (a dual RHW-4 to RHW-6S transition) on the other side of the overpass.
-Don't worry about the graphical problems, just redraw the network to fix them.


On the other side of the overpass, begin to drag out your RHW in the form of a trumpet.  For the loop ramp, let the RHW-4 follow the mainline for about 7 tiles before curving it (this is where the RHW-6S to RHW-4 transition was in section 3.2.).  This will allow enough room to construct the loop ramp.
-As stated in the last guide, the widest RHW network the El-RHW can pass over is the RHW-4.  By drawing two RHW-4s side by side, a "loophole" can be found as you can connect them together on the other side to create a wider network (such as a RHW-6S or RHW-8.)


Now plop in your smooth curves.  Remember inner curves go on the "inner" RHW, and outer curves go on the "outer" RHW.
-Watch your slopes as well.  The smooth curves are larger than the standard curves, so they require more room to create a smooth slope.


Again, don't forget about your outer RHW's off-ramp.  Use a a dual RHW-4 to RHW-6S transition once again and a (inner) smooth curve to hook it up.  Extend the RHW-6S for about 7 tiles before using a RHW-6S to RHW-4 transition.


And there you have it, a compact, yet realistic trumpet interchange!
-Don't forget to connect the loop ramp to the main RHW.  See the step above for instructions.


The size of the interchange is considerably smaller than the trumpet shown in the last guide.




Other applications

These pictures will demonstrate some additional things you can do with this trumpet interchange and is not part of the guide above.  Again, this is optional.

Since we now have some extra room between the loop ramp and where the on-ramp is, this is a good spot to plop a RHW-4 to MIS transition.  This will concentrate all entering traffic from the loop into a single lane, making transitions smoother when the MIS meets the on-ramp.  Change the RHW-6S to RHW-4 ramp to a RHW-4 type "C" ramp. 


The rest of the route can remain the same as shown in the guide.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can also use dual RHW-4 to RHW-8 transitions in place of the dual RHW-4 to RHW-6S transitions.  This will create a wider RHW network able to handle higher traffic volumes.


The rest of the route can remain the same as shown in the guide.


Here's what the high-capacity interchange looks like when zoomed out:
-Note how I didn't use any transitions to narrow the RHW-8 to a RHW-4.





Bonus images

So after I made the interchange displayed in the last image, I decided to play around with it and add in some eyecandy.  Here's an example of what the interchange can look like when it is all "decked out":


Zoomed in:


Zoomed out:





Anyways that will be all for now.  Have fun constructing your own compact, realistic trumpet interchanges!

I have also added a poll to get some feedback on this guide.  Please vote even if you haven't found it useful!

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them below.
-Haljackey

Blue Lightning

Wow Hal, you really do know how to dress your interchanges up. Can't wait for what you have next :)
Also known as Wahrheit

Occasionally lurks.

RHW Project

Haljackey

Thanks Vince!

Well, the results from the poll say that the vast majority are quite happy to have an interchange guide, and it looks like my tutorials aren't too complicated to follow.

These results have encouraged me to continue with the guide, and maybe post some more complex tutorials in the future.

I'll keep the poll up for a bit longer.  Now its onto Cloverleaf interchanges.




Section Four:  Cloverleaf Interchanges


With Saint Patrick's Day coming up, I thought if I was ever going to post a four leaf clover (cloverleaf) interchange guide, now would be the time.

The cloverleaf section will be short because we can already make them with the Maxis Highways, and the fact that their design can cause weaving, something I don't like.  Additionally, they take up a monstrous amount of land using the RHW, even when you are going for a compact design.




Section 4.1: Simple Cloverleaf Interchange

The simple interchange I am going to show you resembles some of the older, outdated freeway designs, minus the weaving lanes.

Drag out your RHW.  For this example I am using a RHW-4 with a 0 tile median.


Create your overpass.  Plop your RHW-4 to El-RHW-4 transitions right next to the underpassing highway.  Drag out your RHW from the overpass.
-You might want to make your overpass a bit longer if you are to widen your RHW or make weaving lanes in the future.


Plop 8 RHW style "B" ramps at the edge of the under/overpass.  Make sure they all face outwards.
-This example is the most compact design.


Then use the MIS to connect them up to form the inner loops. 
-This is the most compact form.


To give a more realistic appearance, try to elongate your loop ramps to make them more circular.


To make the junction more uniform, you can also move your style "B" ramps on the underpassing RHW further away from the underpass so it lines up with the overpassing RHW's ramps.


...And you can also elongate the ramps here as well. 
-I'm going to continue the guide with this example because it has the most circular loop ramps.


Drag four diagonal segments of RHW-2 right next to your loop ramps like so.  This will serve as a guideline as to where to plop your outer ramps.


Plop 8 more RHW style "B" ramps where the RHW-2 segments meet the RHW-4.  Part of the RHW-2 should now change into MIS.  Redraw your RHW-2 with the RHW tool and it should convert to MIS.





There you have it, a fully functional simple cloverleaf interchange!  Talk about a space hog eh?
-In fact, this junction is so large that the Maxis highway cloverleaf interchange nearly fits inside one of the loop ramps.  How's that for a size comparison?   :P

This also marks the first 4-way RHW-RHW tutorial in this guide! &dance I hope you found it helpful!

Hope you have a happy Saint Patrick's Day!
-Haljackey

ecoba

That is huge, but your tutorials really help newbies to the RHW. (Like me...)

Ethan

Cyclone1001


Blue Lightning

Round and round and round and round and round and round....

Nother great tut, Hal! Though to compact it up even more, you could "shrinkwrap" the outer ramps in so that they are right up against the loops.

Mind if I interject this? :P



Vince
Also known as Wahrheit

Occasionally lurks.

RHW Project

Haljackey

Thanks Everyone!

@Blue Lightning: You're getting ahead of me, what I have shown is just a simple cloverleaf interchange.  I will be showing more complicated junctions similar to your example in the future.
-If you look at section 3 (trumpet interchanges), I started off with a simple example before expanding to more complex guides.  Section 4 (cloverleafs) follow this pattern.

Korot

In the category small mistakes, that can easily be fixed, is, from the first post of the thread:
QuoteSection 4:  Cloverleaf Interchanges

3.1 Simple Cloverleaf Interchange

Me thinks that should be 4.1, just guessing...

Nice guide though.

Regards,
Korot

Haljackey

Quote from: Korot on March 13, 2010, 01:31:02 PM
In the category small mistakes, that can easily be fixed, is, from the first post of the thread:
Me thinks that should be 4.1, just guessing...

Nice guide though.

Regards,
Korot

Thanks for pointing that out!  I usually copy and paste old sections when I make new section and change the wording and numbers.  I have fixed that along with a few other things in the sticky post.

New guide coming soon!

Haljackey

#96
Section 4.2:  Complex Cloverleaf Interchange

Here I`ll be showing you how to make a more realistic, higher capacity cloverleaf interchange compared to the simple cloverleaf shown in section 4.1.  It shares many similarities with the junction Blue lightening (Vince) posted but has some distinct differences.

This page is getting flooded with images, so I have been making my images smaller to help minimize clutter and loading times.  Hopefully you can still clearly see what`s happening despite the size reduction.

To keep consistent with section 4.1, I will be using a RHW-4 with a 0 tile median for the main routes.

Note: Hole digging lots are required for this guide, and using a slope mod is strongly suggested.




Drag your RHW.


Plop some ground lifters on either side of the RHW, at least two tiles away.


Drag road from the ground lifters away from the RHW to create a slope.


Demolish the ground lifters and roads.  Use road stubs to even everything out.
-You`ll want a 4x1 segment of ground lifted, like so.  The road stubs are on the raised terrain.


Now drag your second RHW.  Create not only one on-slope overpass for the main route, but secondary overpasses as well.
-You`ll want a slope mod to create a smooth grade.


Plop 4 RHW-4/MIS splitters next to the adjacent overpasses.  There should be about 4 tiles between this junction and the underpassing RHW.


Complete your bridges. Drag RHW from one side to the other for all 4 overpasses.  Check to make sure the RHWs are facing the correct direction.  Drag MIS from the RHW-4/MIS splitters parallel to the RHW.
-Notice the weave lane?  This is an iconic part of cloverleaf interchanges. &blush Its also the reason designers hate it.  At least here we have the weave lanes separated from the main highway :P


Now its time to plop 4 RHW-4/MIS splitters next to the underpassing RHW.  They should be 3 tiles away from the overpass to keep the junction symmetrical.


Drag your new RHW and MIS segments parallel to the main route.  Check to make sure the RHWs are facing the correct direction under the overpass.
-See how this thing is starting to come together?  ;)


Carefully construct your loop ramps.  For best slope results, drag from the overpassing RHW's junctions.
-Depending on how restrictive your slope mod is, the size of your loop ramps may differ.  My loops may not be as circular as yours because I use a very restrictive slope mod.


Now its time to construct your outer ramps like so.  Drag from your MIS parallel to your RHWs as close to the loop ramps as possible, without draging over graded tiles.  (This will impact the slope of the loop ramps and your outer ramps will not be flat.)


Do that for all 4 sides.  When you're done that your junction should look something like this:
-We're almost there!  It's huge, isn't it?  $%Grinno$%


We need to connect those parallel MIS ramps with the main RHW now.  Select the RHW-4 type "C" ramp and plop 2 of them in each quadrant.
-Don't worry about the RHW glitches for now, it will be fixed in the next step.


Plop your RHW-6S to RHW-4 transition a few tiles away from the junctions.  I recommend at least 7 tiles for realism.  Use the RHW tool to redraw any glitched sections now, as they should revert back to RHW-4.
-The road stubs are here show 7 tiles.


...And you're done!  Here's the finished interchange.  What a beast!





Additional Images

You can also plop some RHW-4/MIS splitters where the two MIS sections meet.  This may look nice, but it isn't really needed because these ramps are already separated from the main highway and will make your junction even larger.


Shown here are two additional ways you can hook up your ramps to the main RHW. 
-The RHW heading east merges into one lane before merging onto the main RHW.
-The RHW heading west has separate lanes for each exit before breaking off the main RHW.
-The road stubs are here to show 7 tiles of merge space.





And there you have it, a complex cloverleaf interchange complete with weaving lanes! 

This design is slightly safer than typical cloverleaves because the weaving is taking place away from the main route.  However this design is more costly and takes up more space. 
-Nowadays cloverleaves are hardly ever built because of the danger weaving presents to drivers.  However in SC4, weaving doesn't make a difference to traffic capacity or speed, so its ok to use.  Still, I would suggest a design that doesn't contain any weaving that I may present later in future guides.

I hope this guide is useful!  If you have any questions or comments about this guide or others, feel free to post below.
-Haljackey

McDuell

#97
Haljackey, great tutorial form you, as always.  :thumbsup:


Alas, I'm not sure that this high capacity cloverleaf can be done without access to RHW 4.0. In picture 9 you draw the parallel MIS lanes directly beside the slopes, which isn't possible yet with RHW 3.2. Also, I haven't succeeded with the 4x4 tiles center overpass until now, I always end up with this:
(This might be a possible workaround, but it won't be plain RHW-RHW anymore: ).
The last detail I spotted is the MIS split directly after the type C ramp in the 4th picture from the bottom.

The one part thats most interesting for me personally right now is the central crossover. Having seen this feature, it seems to me that the RHW network will be (again) much more stable in the next version. :satisfied:








----------------
It's redundant, it's redundant. (R.E. Dundant)
----------------

Korot

That overpass problem should have been fixed by a patch released in the main RHW topic. And yes, Haljackey used several features that don't work with RHW 3.2. However, I don't see why you can't drag a MIS parallel to a RHW. I think it is a problem with your slope mod. Try grading the slope beforehand with the rail tool.

Regards,
Korot

Haljackey

#99
Quote from: McDuell on March 15, 2010, 08:12:41 AM
Haljackey, great tutorial form you, as always.  :thumbsup:


Alas, I'm not sure that this high capacity cloverleaf can be done without access to RHW 4.0. In picture 9 you draw the parallel MIS lanes directly beside the slopes, which isn't possible yet with RHW 3.2.

The last detail I spotted is the MIS split directly after the type C ramp in the 4th picture from the bottom.

The one part thats most interesting for me personally right now is the central crossover. Having seen this feature, it seems to me that the RHW network will be (again) much more stable in the next version. :satisfied:

As Korot mentioned, you might be using RHW 3.2.  I suggest grabbing the subsequent patches (version 3.24 has them all, found HERE) that should fix your overpass bugs.

You should know that I don't use RHW 4.0 for any of these guides.  What's the point of giving a tutorial for something you can't make?  It would be useless, at least until RHW 4.0 came out.
-Also if I was using RHW 4.0 you would see a new texture set and features, none of which are found in this guide.

Like Korot, I have no idea what's preventing you from dragging a MIS parallel to your RHW.  It could be your slope mod.  Try dragging RHW instead of MIS at first and then replace it with MIS.

Quote from: Korot on March 15, 2010, 09:34:35 AM
Haljackey used several features that don't work with RHW 3.2.

Again, I use RHW 3.24 for these guides.  No additional content is used other than hole digging lots and a slope mod.




EDIT: Oh, and I should mention if you're having problems drawing an overpass under several tiles of RHW, I suggest using a 1 or 2 tile median.  This should prevent the El-RHW to reverting into RHW-2.